Bethesda: ‘Elder Scrolls V Will Be More Believeable’

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim developer Bethesda Softworks has said the game will be ‘more believable’, confirming an overhaul to the game’s combat system.
Executive producer Todd Howard told the latest issue of US magazine Game Informer that the studio will bring more strategy into melee fights while ironing out some of the animation issues.
“All the stuff we’re doing, we want the game to feel more believable, not just on the screen, but in your hands,” Howard told the mag.

”Although combat in Skyrim is still based on the same core ideas as in Oblivion (spells, melee throwdowns and bow and arrows), it now feels more “involving” and “brutal”, Howard said, “with watching for openings in enemies’ attacks the key to victory.

“We wanted the pace of melee combat to be different. There has to be an energy and a joy to it. And we’re also interested in how the weapons feel in your hand.”
Elder Scrolls V will feature newly added finishing moves, which will be unique to both the weapon and target.
Howard added: “We’ve really slowed down how fast you move backwards. So a guy who is charging you, you can’t just back up from him.

“In Oblivion, you ran backwards at the same speed you fan forwards. The biggest reason we changed that was a visual one; in third-person, it just looked ridiculous.”